Erasmus School of Economics Finance Group organizes the Master Program in Financial Economics. This program is one of the programs of the MSc Economics & Business of the Erasmus School of Economics. General information on the program's academic field, mission, accreditation and ranking can be found here. For information on the curriculum, the staff and other information please follow the menu on the left of your screen.
Audience
The Financial Economics program is intended for Dutch and international students alike, who want to pursue a career in Financial Economics. Students who are interested in receiving high-level education in the fields of Finance and Investments will find an intellectual challenge as well as a chance to explore future career opportunities either in the Netherlands or at the international financial centers such as London or New York.
Academic Field
Financial economics plays an increasingly important role in economic life. Financial economics is a driving force behind corporations, markets and the modern economy. Without money to clear markets, equity prices signaling investment opportunities, debt to keep managers under control, and derivatives to hedge risk exposures the world economy would grind to a halt.
The program is centered on 3 main themes: Corporate Finance, International Finance, and Investments. Important issues in Corporate Finance are the capital structure, company valuation and corporate governance. International Finance covers topics as exchange rates, financial integration and its effects, and monetary policy. The Investments track focuses on the management of investments and financial risk and the pricing in markets for financial instruments such as derivatives
Fascinating topics are the rise of private equity, the abundant financial market anomalies, the increasing focus on behavioral finance and bidding games for acquisitions, asset pricing, asset management of pension funds, fixed income securities, and the rise of emerging markets. All these issues provide an authentic intellectual challenge for students interested in financial economics!
Mission
Our mission is to provide students with scientific theories and tools in the field of financial economics, and to equip them with knowledge and experience that support them in an international career. The program offers its students not only access to fascinating and excellent academic research but also to the benefits of the extensive co-operation that exists with leading business and government. The program of Financial Economics builds on the long-standing co-operation between the Finance group, Accounting group and Economics department of Erasmus School of Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Accreditation and Ranking
The master in financial economics is part of the Erasmus University Master of Science (MSc) in Business Economics program, which is fully accredited by the authorities. Lecturers of the Financial Economics programme conduct research at the forefront of the field of financial economics and have excellent connections within the business community. More information on the staff can be found at the staff page.
Job Perspectives
Having completed the FE-master program, students have excellent international perspectives. The inevitability to deal with recent financial economic developments has kept demand for well-educated financial economists high. Excellent career opportunities exist within multinational corporations, banks, private equity houses, insurance companies, asset management institutions, and government institutions like the central bank, office of the budget. Companies present themselves in the seminar. In addition to that, our study association FSR (in Dutch) provides projects that help you get acquainted with leading corporations.
Masters Curriculum
The one-year master program comprises of 60 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits distributed over 3 distinct course types:
• Courses and electives help you to get acquainted with a wide range of topics that are essential for financial economics, and provide you with a solid background for attending the seminars.
• Seminars are the most important component of the master program and are also highly appreciated by alumni. The program allows you to elect from the available seminars in Corporate Finance and Investments.
• The Master Thesis during the last block of the program. Students can concentrate entirely on their thesis until the end of August.
Because of relatively large numbers of students choosing for financial economics, we can offer a large variety of topics. However, the largest part of this program is in small groups (seminars); the thesis is individual. You can make your own combination of courses and seminars from the three tracks (Corporate Finance, International Finance and Investments) to match your personal interests.
Classes
Depending on one’s personal preferences, courses and electives present an excellent way to get acquainted with a variety of topics that are essential for Financial Economics.
The seminars offered by the Master in Financial Economics are characterized by its small groups. For these intensified courses, active participation and commitment is a prerequisite. You are expected to present pieces of the literature or case applications, ask questions, mention doubts and express your ideas in class discussions.
The thesis is written individually under close supervision of one of our staff members.
The exciting program attracts a relative large number of international students creating a highly diversified class. In addition to that, the Master in Financial Economics uses most modern didactical methods, including seminars with classroom experiments, cases and discussions. Lectures by guest speakers, company trips and a study trip will bridge the distance between theory and practice and help you get acquainted with practitioners and corporations. The combination of these aspects creates a truly international learning experience in a cosmopolitan atmosphere.
Time Frame and Language
The program is taught in English. The 1-year (5 blocks) master program Financial Economics starts in September each year and can only be followed during daytime.
Entry Requirements
The basic entry requirements are a university Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject and fluency in spoken and written English, as assessed by a TOEFL test. The application for this master is centralized. For detailed information on the application and admission procedures of our master program we refer to the application and admission website of the Erasmus School of Economics.
As educational systems across the world differ widely, some Bachelor’s degrees may not give students direct access to the Master’s programs of Erasmus School of Economics. To enable these students to enroll in one of the Master’s programs, Erasmus School of Economics offers a Pre-Master’s program.
Erasmus School of Economics offers graduate students from Dutch ‘HBO’-schools, who want to achieve their master degree in Economic Science, transition programs (only taught in Dutch) after which HBO-students can successfully apply for our master programs. For more information we refer to the university website for HBO-instromers (in Dutch).
Contact Information for Applicants:
Educational Service Centre
Tel: +31 (0) 10 408 1380
Fax: +31 (0) 10 408 2582